BHP : Creating change at the inaugural Australian Indigenous Social Investment Partner Symposium

04 June 2024

In a BHP first, last month we held the inaugural Australian Indigenous Social Investment Partner Symposium where our BHP Indigenous Engagement team, Corporate Affairs, Communities, Communications and Legal came together with Indigenous partner organisations in Melbourne.

In line with our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) commitments under the pillar of Culture and Community, the Symposium serves to bring Indigenous social investment partners together to learn, share and identify potential collective projects to collaborate on.

The agenda was jam-packed including time for partners to share their programs, goals and governance, hearing from guest facilitators and the presentation of the Australian Indigenous Social Investment Strategy, improvement initiatives and evaluation, reporting and advocacy.

In seeking outcomes for Indigenous people, created by Indigenous people, we reflected on partnering practice - working together to understand what is working for partners and where we can improve.

A key agenda item was to conduct four partner panel sessions being, Indigenous Knowledges, Healthy Generations, Strong Futures and, Reconciliation and Truth-telling. The expert panels of change-makers discussed a variety of topics including learnings, bright spots and opportunities, and unlocked a line of conversation through partner network expansion to connect on broader community matters and impact.

Allan James, Head of Indigenous engagement reflected on the success of the event, "by coming together over two days, we unlock doors and lines of enquiry between organisations that we hope will build long lasting relationships that are strategic and of benefit across generations."

"It's not often that we get the opportunity to stop and pause, think about best practice, and to connect with partners to collectively consider and challenge how we engage."

"Contributing to the achievement of aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities within Australia is essential to the relationships we share with communities, and ultimately supports the sustainability of our operations", he said.

Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive - with partners united in their appreciation for the opportunity.